


Just Friends Having Pizza

by harpydora



Category: Dumb Kids Playing Hero (Podcast)
Genre: Apology Pizza, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Team Bonding, pizza party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29004552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/pseuds/harpydora
Summary: Ariel's hands are too full of pizza boxes to knock, so she kicks at the door to announce her arrival instead. She's not sure who she's hoping opens the door to the apartment she shares with Kel, but she can think of plenty of reasons why she doesn't want to see each of the others in turn.(Or: Ariel tries to apologize using a pizza bribe.)Spoilers for the S1 finale.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4
Collections: Secret Druids of the Stones 2020 (A Standing Stones Fanwork Exchange)





	Just Friends Having Pizza

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Secret Druids! Ensemble scenes are Hard but hopefully everyone comes through a little bit. I'm sad about parallels between Jude and Max/Ariel and Mal. Sibling relationships are A Lot when there's a force of mind-controlling aliens running around.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this apology pizza before S2 renders this completely AU.

Ariel's hands are too full of pizza boxes to knock, so she kicks at the door to announce her arrival instead. She's not sure who she's hoping opens the door to the apartment she shares with Kel, but she can think of plenty of reasons why she doesn't want to see each of the others in turn.

There's some muffled shuffling on the other side of the door before Dante yanks the door open probably a little harder than necessary. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks kind of like dog shit, but his face lights up when the aroma of the pizza hits him. "Fuck yes, you remembered the pineapple." He holds the door open so it won't try to slam closed on her like it usually does.

The gang's all here—well, most of it; there was no way they were sneaking two Hork-Bajir into the apartment, even if they would fit, and Hunter preferred to stay with Jet and Grah. Benny, Adrian, Max, Jude, and Kel are all gathered around the table. It's… awkward. Everything has been so tense lately, so  _ intense _ that it's impossible to ignore the strained vibes permeating the room.

Some of it dissipates as soon as they notice Ariel, though. The aroma of pizza is a universal ice-breaker, she guesses. There are six large pizzas in total, which cost an arm and a leg, but can one really put a price tag on the kind of apology Ariel needs to issue?

No. There's no amount of money that can make up for what happened on the blade ship.

They spread the boxes out on the table. It doesn't really leave room for them to  _ eat _ at the table, but they're all college students—except for Jude, of course. Either way, they're all old enough to figure out how to eat pizza out of their lap or while holding their plates with one hand.

There's pineapple and pepperoni for Dante, a standard pepperoni, a standard cheese, a meat lover's, a supreme, and a veggie pizza with lots of mushrooms and peppers for Kel. Ariel puts even odds that Adrian will attack that one, too. She's seen him put away some absolutely garbage food, but she's also seen him demolish a salad bar.

"God that smells good," Adrian says, using one hand to waft the pizza aroma closer to his nose.

"Yeah," Benny agrees. "But what brought on the pizza party? You didn't have to do that."

Ariel swallows and takes a deep breath through her nose. Here it is. It's now or never. "Yeah, I kinda did."

There's a heavy pause, then the words just come out in a rush. Ariel blurts out, "Visser-1 is my brother."

Everyone freezes, Dante and Adrian's hands half-way to opening the pizza boxes, Kel and Jude in the middle of passing out plates, Benny about to grab some paper towels in lieu of napkins. All eyes snap up to her.

Ariel feels their resolve crumbling under the weight of everyone's gaze. Through a rapidly tightening throat, she manages to say, "This is my apology pizza, okay? I'm sorry my brother tried to kill us. If you don't eat it, I'll start crying right now."

She doesn't say that she might start crying whether they eat it or not.

Jude breaks the silence first. "Hey, it's okay. I get it." Of course, he knows kind of what Ariel's going through. Next to him, Max kind of shrinks a little. He has an idea, too.

"There's no way he just gave in," Max adds. "Not since he's related to you."

There are tears forming in Ariel's eyes. Fuck.

Kel closes the distance between them. "Hey, are you okay if I touch you?"

Ariel nods, and Kel's hand comes to rest on their shoulder. "It's not your fault," they say in a low tone. "You aren't responsible for what that yeerk did. To us  _ and _ your brother. Okay?"

"Yeah, exactly," Adrian chimes in. Benny also nods.

Dante is silent, and Ariel's heart drops. She cares about what everyone thinks, of course, but… She's admired Dante for a while, even if she didn't know it until recently. If he hates her… 

Finally, his expression hardens. Ariel steels themself for the inevitable reproach.

It doesn't come. Instead, Dante says, "I don't know how we're going to do it yet, but we're going to get your brother back."

That's it. There's no holding back the tears, and they start rolling down Ariel's cheeks. She tries to take a calming breath but it just comes out as a loud sniffle. "Just eat the goddamn pizza," she says through the tears. "So I can stop crying."

Kel rubs her arm in a soothing motion, and that helps ground her a little. She sniffles again and scrubs at her eyes with the heel of her palm. "C'mon, the pizza's getting cold," she croaks.

"Okay," says Jude, reaching for a slice of supreme and sliding it onto one of the paper plates in his hand. Then he takes an exaggerated bite and makes audible chewing sounds.

It's so ridiculous. Ariel can't help but let out a hiccuping laugh.

Max follows suit, grabbing some plain pepperoni. Before putting it into his mouth, he says, "Apology accepted, even though you didn't need to say pizza-sorry."

"Yeah," Adrian says as he takes a slice of the meat lover's pizza (Ariel's second choice for what he might eat). "It's not your fault, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll eat the pizza."

She looks at Dante, who hasn't moved yet. "I got you pineapple."

Dante doesn't say anything at first, but then he clears his throat. "You don't have to bribe me with pizza."

Benny rolls his eyes even as he reaches for his own slice. "Just eat the damn pizza. They got you something with your favorite toppings."

Heaving a heavy sigh, Dante relents and the knot that Ariel hadn't realized had tied itself up in her chest releases. She's able to breathe again, but the tears are still coming. Next to her, Kel whispers, "Do you want a hug?"

Ariel sniffles again and nods, not trusting her own voice.

Kel pulls them in for a comfortable hug—not too loose, not too tight. "It'll be okay. You don't have to be sorry."

"Thanks," Ariel rasps.

"No problem," says Kel in a soothing tone. "Let me know when you're done."

They stay there for a few more seconds before the tears subside and Ariel says, "Thanks. I'm—I'm okay. Go get your apology pizza."

Kel flashes them a soft smile that makes their stomach do a tiny little flip. Ariel firmly pushes  _ that _ away, instead just smiling back.

Once everyone has a slice of pizza, including Ariel herself, her shoulders relax. The weird vibes are gone, and Max brings up the topic of correctly eating a slice of pizza. A heated discussion ensues, with Adrian having strong opinions on whether to fold it or not, but the tension is gone. For now, they're all just friends having pizza.

Ariel hopes so fervently that they can all preserve this fragile kind of peace.


End file.
